HNUH288W

In real time during the pandemic, we had a front-row seat to how much global healthcare can be a function not of the law but of human action. From how to prioritize populations for vaccines to individual decisions about masks, we were plunged into an almost daily discussion of the values and moral principles that guide nations and people in making choices about healthcare. This class invites students to explore their sense of right and wrong in the public healthcare debate. We will look at traditional issues such as legal paternalism, informed consent, and governmental distrust. And we will take up pressing current issues like abortion's impact on identity/privacy, disparities in marginalized communities, and biometric technologies. Students will acquire the tools to think critically think about these important issues of fairness and what our current practices reveal about society's values.